A TRIAL scheme which saw early morning planes diverted across Lewisham and Greenwich led to a large rise in noise, a report has concluded.

As News Shopper reported earlier this year, the Heathrow Airport trial was sending early arrivals flying across the area from 4.30am to 6am.

It led to a community campaign, spearheaded by 41-year-old Brockley solictor Elise Parkin, after many people complained about the disruption to their sleep.

And Heathrow's final report on the trial seems to admit that part of the scheme was a failure, singling out Brockley as one area where "unforeseen consequences" meant a higher number of night flights.

The scheme had instructed pilots to avoid specified areas on alternate weeks in order to give residents a break, but the report concludes around 100,000 people living under the flight paths were affected by noise.

It recommends that the trial should not be taken forward in its present form.

London Assembly member and Brockley councillor Cllr Darren Johnson, who encouraged people to complain, said: "It's absolutely no surprise. When Heathrow met with Brockley residents a couple of months ago they concluded there had been unintended consequences in terms of noise nuisance.

"They hadn't carried out any proper consultation with local residents or representatives in those areas that might be affected.

"And they didn't do any proper computer modelling in advance. It meant a huge amount of extra noise over areas like Brockley and Greenwich."

Heathrow’s sustainability director Matt Gorman said: "We will now examine what improvements we can make to retain the benefits of this trial whilst addressing the challenges."